A framework to assess the quality and impact of bioinformatics training across ELIXIR.

ELIXIR is a pan-European intergovernmental organisation for life science that aims to coordinate bioinformatics resources in a single infrastructure across Europe; bioinformatics training is central to its strategy, which aims to develop a training community that spans all ELIXIR member states. In an evidence-based approach for strengthening bioinformatics training programmes across Europe, the ELIXIR Training Platform, led by the ELIXIR EXCELERATE Quality and Impact Assessment Subtask in collaboration with the ELIXIR Training Coordinators Group, has implemented an assessment strategy to measure quality and impact of its entire training portfolio. Here, we present ELIXIR's framework for assessing training quality and impact, which includes the following: specifying assessment aims, determining what data to collect in order to address these aims, and our strategy for centralised data collection to allow for ELIXIR-wide analyses. In addition, we present an overview of the ELIXIR training data collected over the past 4 years. We highlight the importance of a coordinated and consistent data collection approach and the relevance of defining specific metrics and answer scales for consortium-wide analyses as well as for comparison of data across iterations of the same course

Defining a lingua franca for the ELIXIR/GOBLET e-learning ecosystem

Today, the term e-learning is widely used in a variety of contexts. Many of us are familiar with concepts like Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), such as those provided by Coursera, Udacity, edX or MIT OpenCourseWare; Content- or Learning-Management Systems (CMSs, LMSs), like Moodle or Blackboard; Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), like EMBER; problem and tutorial portals, such as Rosalind and Train online; repositories for uploading and hosting Educational Resources (ERs), such as that provided by GOBLET; ER aggregators that harvest and disseminate training information, such as TeSS; and so on. Resources like these are seamlessly discussed under the umbrella term ‘e-learning’; however, they are heterogeneous and do not mean the same thing from user, developer, trainer or content-provider perspectives. Confusion can therefore arise if those using the term generically have not grasped each other’s specific meanings. In the context of ELIXIR, this situation came to the fore in preparations for the EXCELERATE project, whose training programme (WP11) includes an explicit e-learning subtask (11.1.3) as part of the commitment to build an ELIXIR training infrastructure. The ultimate deliverable of the subtask is to develop an ELIXIR e-learning policy and deploy e-learning platform(s) at the ELIXIR level. But what does an ‘e-learning platform for ELIXIR’ mean? Is it an instance of a MOOC platform, a customised LMS, a bespoke VLE, an ER repository, an aggregator, or something else? Clarification of this question was important, because each of the possible answers has very different implementation and resource requirements. To try to address this question, and to facilitate communication both within ELIXIR, and between the ELIXIR and GOBLET trainer communities, an initial workshop – Defining an e-learning lingua franca – was held in Ljubljana (SI), 15-17 September 2015. At one level, the aim was to develop an overview of some of the e-learning approaches and applications developed or used by representatives from ELIXIR, GOBLET and other organisations – participants were therefore asked briefly to describe the systems they’d developed, to allow them, and their respective strengths and weaknesses, to be compared. At another level, the aim of the workshop was to try to converge on a common e-learning ‘language’, to help the ELIXIR and GOBLET trainer communities to communicate more coherently. To broaden the picture and gain a wider understanding of the challenges, a follow-up event was held during the GOBLET Annual General Meeting in Cape Town (ZA), 18-20 November 2015. Here, the outcomes of the first meeting were further discussed and refined. Gaining a clearer view of the current e-learning landscape, and consensus on what we collectively mean by e-learning, were the necessary first steps towards formulating appropriate e-learning strategies for ELIXIR and GOBLET, and suggesting solutions that can feasibly be implemented. In the event, the issues were more deep-rooted than we expected, and many additional discussions were needed. This paper reflects the results of those discussions and of the deliberations of the workshop participants

The ELIXIR-EXCELERATE Train-the-Trainer pilot programme:Empower researchers to deliver high-quality training

One of the main goals of the ELIXIR-EXCELERATE project from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme is to support a pan-European training programme to increase bioinformatics capacity and competency across ELIXIR Nodes. To this end, a Train-the-Trainer (TtT) programme has been developed by the TtT subtask of EXCELERATE’s Training Platform, to try to expose bioinformatics instructors to aspects of pedagogy and evidence-based learning principles, to help them better design, develop and deliver high-quality training in future. As a first step towards such a programme, an ELIXIR-EXCELERATE TtT (EE-TtT) pilot was developed, drawing on existing ‘instructor training’ models, using input both from experienced instructors and from experts in bioinformatics, the cognitive sciences and educational psychology. This manuscript describes the process of defining the pilot programme, illustrates its goals, structure and contents, and discusses its outcomes. From Jan 2016 to Jan 2017, we carried out seven pilot EE-TtT courses (training more than sixty new instructors), collaboratively drafted the training materials, and started establishing a network of trainers and instructors within the ELIXIR community. The EE-TtT pilot represents an essential step towards the development of a sustainable and scalable ELIXIR TtT programme. Indeed, the lessons learned from the pilot, the experience gained, the materials developed, and the analysis of the feedback collected throughout the seven pilot courses have both positioned us to consolidate the programme in the coming years, and contributed to the development of an enthusiastic and expanding ELIXIR community of instructors and trainers

A framework to assess the quality and impact of bioinformatics training across ELIXIR.

ELIXIR is a pan-European intergovernmental organisation for life science that aims to coordinate bioinformatics resources in a single infrastructure across Europe; bioinformatics training is central to its strategy, which aims to develop a training community that spans all ELIXIR member states. In an evidence-based approach for strengthening bioinformatics training programmes across Europe, the ELIXIR Training Platform, led by the ELIXIR EXCELERATE Quality and Impact Assessment Subtask in collaboration with the ELIXIR Training Coordinators Group, has implemented an assessment strategy to measure quality and impact of its entire training portfolio. Here, we present ELIXIR's framework for assessing training quality and impact, which includes the following: specifying assessment aims, determining what data to collect in order to address these aims, and our strategy for centralised data collection to allow for ELIXIR-wide analyses. In addition, we present an overview of the ELIXIR training data collected over the past 4 years. We highlight the importance of a coordinated and consistent data collection approach and the relevance of defining specific metrics and answer scales for consortium-wide analyses as well as for comparison of data across iterations of the same course